Silica brick.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VINFIELD H. GIBSON, OF HOMESTEAD, AND H ENRY VESSLING, OF HOPE- OI-IURCH, PENNSYLVANIA.

SILICA BRICK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,708, dated June 3, 1902.

Application filed May 29, 1901. Serial No. 62,432. ($pecin1ens.)

To all whom it may concern: brick or fireproof material we reduce pure Be it known that we, WINFIELD H. GIBSON, or substantially pure silica rock to the condiresidingatHomestead,andHENRYWESSLING, tion of fineness to which it is now usual to residing at Hopechurch, in the county of Allereduce it prior to'compressing the mass into 5 gheny and State of Pennsylvania, citizens of the form of bricks. We then add to and mix the United States, have jointly invented or therewith a quantity of the same material, discovered a certain new and useful Improvepreferably pure silica, reduced to a very fine ment' in Silica Bricks, of which improvement impalpable powder. We have found by suethe following is a specification. cessful practice that about one hundred and 10 Our invention relates to fire-brick, and parfifty pounds (150 lbs.) of the finely-powdered 6o ticularly to that class of fire-brick known as silica added to and mixed with six thousand silica brick. pounds (6,000 lbs.) of coarsely-crushed silica Heretofore, so far as we are aware, in the rock produces fireproof material or bricks of production or manufacture of silica brick it excellent character.

I 5 has been impossible to aggregate,bond,or com- In the production of our fireproof material pact a mass of pure silica and prevent the or brick we preferably mix the powdered same from disintegrating or flying apart when silica with sufficient water to form a liquid, subjected to high temperature. The usual in which the powdered silica is held in susmanner of bonding silica brick is by the use pension, then pour the same into and mix 20 of lime, which serves as a flux, which under thoroughly withthe coarsersilica. Theusual 7o considerable temperature serves to cement method or manner of drying, burning, and the silica and hold the same in a compact cooling bricks is employed. body. The lime is objectionable, for however Brick or fireproof material produced accordsmall the percentage thereof is used the brick in g to our invention is characterized by a spe- 2 5 is liable to and in practice does fuse atatemcific gravity or density of about 2.21 and poperature sufficient to fuse the lime, which is rosity of about 8.21 per cent. The specific many degrees lower in temperature than that gravity of the silica rock employed will vary at which the silica comprising the body of the from 1.95 to 2.49. brick would fuse. Another method of bond- Among the radical differences existing in o iug silica brick is that of using alkaline siliour brick or fireproof material over such brick 8o cates combined with carbonaceous matter. or fireproof materialas has heretofore been This method is also objectionable for the reaknown to the art are its relatively great denson above stated. sity or specific gravity and relatively small I The object of our present invention is to degree of porosity and substantial freedom 5 produce a refractory brick or fireproof matefrom lime and alkaline silicates, in conserial composed of substantially pure coarselyquence of which it is adapted to withstand a ground silica rock, bonded with substantially very high degree of temperature, whether in- I pure or pure silica reduced to a powder, in termittent or continuous, and is of particular which condition the bonding silica is sintered value for lining steel melting-furnaces, as it 0 or fused between the crystals ofthe coarser will most satisfactorily withstand disintegrao material, producing a fireproof material or tion from the splashing hot metal. We have brick which when burned is of relatively great found by actual tests that brick constructed specific gravity and density and capable of rein accordance With our invention are capable sisting or withstanding the highest temperaof withstanding a very much higher degree 5 ture to which this character of material or of temperature and for a period of time at 5 brick is usually subjected-as, for instance, least fifty per cent. longer than is possible to when used toline steel melting-furnaces-rand be attained in the use of the best silica brick also remaining intact when subjected to inheretofore known in the art. termittent temperature. We do not. herein claim the method of pro- 50 In the production of our improved silica duci ng our brick or fireproof material, the Ice same being the subject-matter of our eopending application, Serial No. 40,150, filed December 17, 1900.

We claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. As a new article of manufacture, a refractory brick or fireproof material composed of substantially pure silica substantially free from lime and alkaline-metal silicates, and being substantially non-porous and of relatively great density. 

